


Beyond Time

by SpideySense777



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), Green Lantern (Comics), Iron Man (Comics), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Multi, Multiple Crossovers, Multiple Pairings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:22:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27123781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpideySense777/pseuds/SpideySense777
Summary: *First chapter re-written*Pepper wakes in the night and has a weird experience with a light coming from the garage/Tony's workshop, but it turns into so much more than anyone expected.Honestly, a lot of cross-over will go on in this fic but it will always remain centered in the Ironman Fandom. Starts post-Infinity War and the beginning of Endgame.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Tony Stark/Avengers Team, Tony Stark/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 2





	Beyond Time

**Author's Note:**

> What's up, everybody? I'm writing this story for fun since it's been in my head for years now. Sorry it's not beta'd but I did my best with grammar. It's kind of a Sci-Fi feel? Anyway, hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading :)
> 
> BTW Disclaimer: I don't own any of this it's all Marvel and Disney and whoever else's hand is in the pie.

**Beyond Time**

A bright green light out in the yard caught Pepper’s attention as she drank a cold glass of water by the kitchen window. Lowering the cup from her lips, she sat it on the counter and creased her brow curiously.

It wasn't the first time she'd seen the light, always brushing it off as one of Tony’s inventions. Having been with the man for more than half her life, she was constantly bombarded with strange anomalies around the house. Though she had to admit, all things considered, over the past five years his erratic behavior had slowed down, however, she knew better than to think it had stopped completely.

There was something different about the light tonight than the previous times she’d seen. Something that was keeping her in her place and her mind turning when she normally would have gone back to bed. A distinct energy was in the air; an unmistakable electricity that had the hairs on her body at attention, but not in a malevolent way.

Maybe she was crazy, or tired, but the light felt as if it were calling out to her. Like it was an invitation or offer meant to draw her out rather than warn her away. Pepper sighed, not sure how she was getting all that from looking at a light, but it was just… _there_. She flicked her eyes to the oven clock, recording exactly what time it was she’d lost her mind.

3:37 am.

Pepper emptied the contents of the cup back into the sink and turned to go back to bed, having weirded herself out enough for one night.

_But that’s when **it** happened._

A wave of what she could only describe as energy crashed over her, compelling her to turn around. Pepper frowned and turned back towards the window, not feeling entirely in control of her own movements. She began staring out at the light that seemed to have grown brighter, filling her with an insistent urge to go to it, until she was seriously contemplating putting on her shoes and trekking out to the garage in the middle of the night.

She scanned the back yard but saw nothing other than the pitch black of night. Her body was surging in a way she couldn’t describe, so overwhelming she thought her knees might give out.

Pepper bit her lip as her brain raged with clashing impulses. One part was telling her to go investigate, and the other reminded her she wasn’t thinking clearly because of exhaustion. She ended up just standing there as if in some sort of meditative state, her head swirling with soft voices she couldn't make out.

Her entire attention was on the light, disturbingly so. Her veins flowed with warmth and an overwhelming sense of love and well-being. It was so powerful that it took her breath away, and not a single other thing in the world mattered at that moment, just her, and oddly enough, the light.

  
After what seemed an eternity Pepper gasped, slowly regaining control of her senses from her captive state. She reached up, feeling wetness on her cheeks. They were tears, but she didn’t have the slightest memory of crying.

Pepper blinked and stood there dumfounded, continuing to watch the light as if it would give her the answers. Its steady glow was so soothing that she thought she could have stared at it for hours. Hell, maybe she had.

It wasn't until she felt a sharp tug on her robe, making her jump slightly due to her heighted awareness that the spell was broken. Pepper clutched her hammering chest and spun around, relieved to find it was only her daughter.

"Mommy?" Morgan rubbed the sleep from her eyes, standing there in her pink and white polka dot footie pajamas. "What are you doing?"

"Uh, I think I should be asking you that question, little miss. What are you doing out of bed?"

Pepper chuckled and bent to pull the girl into her arms.

"I'm thirsty.” Morgan laid her head on Pepper's shoulder.

Pepper stroked her soft brown hair and pressed a kiss to the side of her head.

"Would you like some water?" She asked, turning back around to the counter and filling the glass she'd previously used.

Her eyes wandered yet again out the window; her experience still fresh in her mind. She froze when she saw the light that enraptured her had vanished. She surveilled the area again, her eyes darting back and forth across the yard searching almost desperately, but it was no use. Nothing was there.

More confused than ever when a keen sense of loss started to settle in that was strange and yet all so familiar, Pepper became startled again by Morgan wiggling in her arms.

"Mommy, water," she whined.

Pepper frowned down at the overflowing glass in her hand, turning off the tap. She handed it to Morgan who immediately took it and gulped half the glass.

"What is this midnight at the watering hole?" Tony's sleepy voice filled the kitchen, followed by the creaking floor as he padded across it barefoot.

"Apparently. Were you outside?" Pepper asked, turning to face him.

"No, I was in bed, alone I might add. That hasn't happened since…well, ever. What are you guys doing?"

"We were thirsty. I saw a green light out by the garage." Pepper mentioned, hoping he would fill in the gaps from there.

Tony merely rubbed a hand over his tired face, causing his hair to stick up everywhere at odd angles. He peered out the kitchen window.

"It's gone now, but it was there." Pepper took the cup back from Morgan and handed it to Tony.

"Probably fireflies," Tony said, gulping the remaining water down.

Pepper rolled her eyes. "You don't think I know what fireflies look like? It was coming from inside the garage, and it was really bright. It's not the first time I've seen it either. What do you have going on out there?" She eyed him suspiciously.

"Nothing recently." Tony shrugged. "Probably the bots wreaking havoc, that's all," he offered, sounding unconcerned about the whole thing.

Pepper pursed her lips but nodded. He was probably right, but still, she couldn't shake the feeling something else was going on. She could feel Tony's eyes on her as she stared out the window.

"You want me to check it out?" He asked with a tint of concern.

She shook her head.

"No, you're right. It was probably just the bots. This place is a fortress anyway. If there was something out there a camera or motion sensor would have caught it, " she rambled, trying to reassure herself.

"Right," Tony said slowly, frowning at her odd behavior.

"I think we all need to go back to bed." Pepper said to change the subject. She narrowed her eyes at Morgan since the girl had a bad habit of roaming around the house at night.

_Like father like daughter._

"I want Daddy.” Morgan held out her arms to Tony.

Pepper smiled and passed her off to him.

"Let's get you to bed then, judge. I'm sure your docket is full tomorrow." He teased as she wrapped herself around him.

"I wanna sleep with you and Mommy," Morgan mumbled into his shoulder.

Pepper smirked, knowing Tony would give in. She followed them up the stairs.

"You do? Well just know it'll cost ya big. Like 3 cookies and a barrel of monkeys. You got enough to pay up?"

Morgan nodded, already half asleep by the time they reached the bedroom.

Pepper shook her head in amusement and removed her robe as they all climbed under the blankets. Morgan lay in between her and Tony as they scooted in to cuddle against her sides. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Pepper closed her eyes, trying to follow suit, but her mind would not stop obsessing over that damn light.

As if sensing her distress, Tony began watching her in the darkness stroke Morgan's hair away from her face.

Warmth and love beamed in Pepper's heart for her daughter, but no matter what she did, it never seemed enough to quell the slight ache that accompanied it.

"What's on your mind, Pep?" Tony whispered, reaching out to caress her cheek.

Pepper was struck hard by the question. Her chest began to throb as memories of a tall, equally brown-haired boy entered her mind. A tear rolled down her cheek seemingly out of nowhere for the second time that night, but then that was usually how it went - a moment, a look, a tv show, Morgan's dark but very bright eyes staring up at her. Those were just a few of the things that could cause her to want to crumble in an instant.

Pepper bit her lip, relishing Tony's touch as it was the closest they could get at the moment. More tears made their way down her cheeks and he brushed them away with his thumb.

"You know." She said simply, not needing or trusting herself to say more without completely losing it. She stared at her husband in the moonlit room, watching a tear slide down his own cheek at the past rising to the surface,

"Yeah," he murmured in confirmation.

Pepper brought her hand up to cup the back of his that was stroking her face and pressed it against her cheek, squeezing it for mutual comfort.

"I miss him, Tony," She finally whispered, her heart breaking all over as the words left her mouth.

"Me too, honey. I'm so sorry," he whispered back.

"It's not your fault, Tony. There was nothing you could do." Pepper licked the salty tears from her lips.

"I should have been able to. I should have been able to stop Thanos. I had years to prepare. If I had done more then he and Peter and everyone else would still be here."

"Tony, everybody lost that battle. We made a promise to go on. The memories are hard, but they wouldn't have wanted us to fall apart."

"I know, Pep. But I can't help it. I see him and Peter everywhere, especially in Morgan."

"Me too, sweetheart," Pepper said, sadly.

The last thing she wanted was to bring this up when she knew the weight of bringing their sons back Tony kept on his shoulders. He’d been working on a way to reverse what Thanos had done since Carol had brought him back on that spaceship. Nobody talked about it much, but the snap had and still was eating away at all those who had survived and were left to deal with the literal ashes. It was especially hard for the ones who had fought and lost. Not only did Tony feel like he failed by not even being on Earth when their son turned to ash, he’d also watched Peter, a boy who might as well had been a son to them, suffer the same fate and dissolve right in his arms.

The nightmares when he got back were horrid for both of them as they tried to hold together the shattered pieces of both their family and the world. It was a dark and hard time until, complicated further when Pepper found out she was indeed pregnant. Then there was a period of shock trying to figure out how years of a solid birth control regimen had suddenly failed. They hadn’t planned on having any more kids, especially with it being later in life. It seemed Tony’s intuition hadn’t been far off even though she’d scoffed at it at the time.

Pepper had felt incredibly guilty at first during her pregnancy, thinking they were replacing one child with another. Though the further along she got, she knew they had to straighten themselves out. It would do no good to raise a baby in a depressing environment, which both she and Tony knew all about from their own childhoods. They vowed they would never do that and had succeeded despite the urge to give in so many times.

Jasper had only been a year old when Howard and Maria died, then with Morgan in the aftermath of a near-apocalyptic event. There had been only two choices – fight on, or give in. Death always brought new life, it seemed, but if there was a chance to undo what had been done, then shouldn’t they take it? It was an uncertain question because there were so many unknown variables.

Would reversing what happened take Morgan away from them? Pepper couldn’t even think about it.

"I know I’m close, Pep. You have to know that.” Tony whispered.

  
“Tony…” Pepper sighed guiltily. She hated to hear him so vulnerable.

“It's been a long time, but I will bring them back." His voice went hoarse slightly on the last part. Pepper squeezed his hand again, bringing it to her lips and pressing loving kisses to it.

"Of course, you will, baby. I have every faith in you. If anyone can do it, it’s you. But honey, please stop being so hard on yourself. It's going to be okay." She told him, more confidently than she felt.

"I just want our boys back." Tony yawned through his tears. He was exhausted; they both were.

"Let's try to get some sleep. You know tomorrow is pancake day and Morgan will be expecting them at the crack of dawn." Pepper said, hoping to lighten the mood.

Tony chuckled. "Maybe I should sleep with the codpiece on," he murmured, drifting off to sleep moments later.

Pepper focused on the warmth of his now limp hand in hers, her own eyes drifting shut.

As soon as she fell asleep, Pepper found herself in a dream wandering through an enormous spaceship. It was incredibly vivid. She was searching for something, but wasn’t quite sure what. She only knew that she couldn’t leave until she found it. Hours seemed to go by with her roaming up and down the endless corridors, passing by people and alien creatures at every turn. She hid from them at first, but after some experimenting, she realized they either couldn’t see her or they were ignoring her. After climbing up a flight of stairs, she entered what she assumed was the ship's control room.

Pepper gasped at the massive window offering her a breathtaking view into deep space. She was about to go closer to get a better look when the volume in the room suddenly increased. An entourage of people talking rather loudly passed her by. At the center of the group was a short, commanding woman with black hair tied back in a ponytail. Pepper got the sense she was supposed to follow the girl, that she may be the key to finding what she’d been searching for. She ditched the window and began trailing after the group instead.

They ended up going back through many of the halls Pepper had already traveled and still, nobody noticed her. Along the way, members of the group would break off here and there to execute the orders the raven-haired girl had given them. By the time they reached an elevator only two people remained, the raven-haired girl and a blonde. They entered the elevator and Pepper slipped in but stood off in the corner just in case.

"What's the ETA on the Corps arrival?" The raven-haired girl asked the blonde.

The blonde sighed, giving the other girl an exasperated look. "I'll let you know that, and the 9,000 other questions that need to be answered once he stops holding up in the arcade playing Call of Duty."

The raven-haired girl sighed, although a small smirk formed on her lips as the elevator came to a stop.

"Fine, come with me. I'll deal with this," she said, moving through the door.

They walked down another long, endless hallway that contained more doors than any of the previous ones. At the very end, a bright neon sign flashed above the last door, spelling out the word _Arcade_. Pepper followed the girls inside, only to be assaulted by the blasting sounds of war and cheers and howls. Another group of people congregated around a cinema-sized screen taking up an entire wall, enthralled in whatever was happening in the game.

Pepper took a moment to take in her surroundings. Old arcade machines, cardboard cutouts of comic book characters, and various toys and posters filled the room. Couches and smaller screens were set up and hooked to older game systems with their respective game cartridges littered across the dozens of tables. Robots zoomed about, cleaning up pizza boxes, discarded clothes, and drinks.

The whole thing was any teenager's wet dream and reminded her of how her son’s room used to look. Pepper scrunched her nose as a bot buzzed by with a pair of dirty socks in its clawed hands. The area was clearly a center attraction for people to be leaving their clothes lying about. Pepper watched the bot go and shook her head before jumping at the near-deafening boom of a bomb going off on the screen.

The group once again roared in delight. Meanwhile, the girls Pepper had followed in had plugged their ears and were pushing their way through the crowd. Pepper did the same despite the fact she might end up deaf by the end of it. She squeaked in disbelief as someone leaving turned around and passed right through her body.

"UHHHHH EXCUSE ME!" The raven-haired girl yelled over the music that had stopped. "I'm pretty sure you all have actual battle preparations to attend to not simulated ones. I don't think you're going to be able to do that sitting here playing video games all day. Thanks!"

The group mumbled to themselves, clearly not impressed as they cleared out. Pepper stood to the side, none too eager for anyone else to be passing through her apparently dense-less body. When they were gone, she made her way across the massive room over to the girls again, finding the blonde standing off to the side as the raven-haired girl argued with someone on the couch.

As Pepper neared, she halted in her tracks immediately recognizing the male's deep, cavernous voice. She practically sprinted to get closer, heart hammering in her chest.

_No, it can't be_

Her hands flew to her mouth stifling a sob at the sight before her. On the couch sat her son, alive and well. For a moment she thought she might faint but fought it. Instead, she stood gawking, never feeling so happy.

Jasper was exactly as she remembered him, but also a little different. He wore a medium-length stubble on his face now he never had before. His brown hair was cut short but not shaved, remaining thicker on the top. His equally chocolate eyes were so dark they were nearly black as he argued with the raven-haired girl. Pepper wanted nothing more than to go over and throw her arms around him and never let go, but she was stuck in her spot watching the scene unfold.

"You are aware that we are preparing for an intergalactic battle?" The girl glared at Jasper.

"I am, seeing as I'm the one commanding it," Jasper replied smoothly, looking past the girl as he continued playing his game.

"Oh? Because from what I've seen you had nearly the whole ship watching you play games when they should be preparing for the fight of their lives, and we don't even know when the Corps are arriving."

"…That's because they aren't." Jasper's eyes darted to the girl briefly.

The girl gritted her teeth, cocking her hip. "What do you mean they aren't?" 

Jasper rolled his eyes, tossing his controller aside and hauling himself off the couch. He walked over to the circular bar in the middle of the room and poured himself a drink.

"I mean, according to Sinestro, the Corps won't follow me into this battle. The numbers are already slim because of the snap. They can't afford the resources."

"They know what happens to Earth if we don't-"

"Yes, but they don't see the logic in leaving the remaining guarded sectors without Lanterns to try to save one planet…." He said, taking a large swallow of the amber liquid.

"But this could bring all those Lantern's back!" The girl replied angrily.

"They disagree. Looks like we're doing this one solo." Jasper gazed at her.

"Are you out of your mind?!" The girl thrust her hands on her hips. "Thanos's armies are - there's no way we can take them all on." She yelled.

"We won't have to. All we have to worry about is the gauntlet."

"You mean you."

"That's the idea."

"No, it’s not an idea, it's a death sentence."

"We've trained for this. " Jasper said, knocking back another drink. “Besides, I don’t fear death.”

"No of course not. Not you. Sometimes I think you rather would."

There was a tense silence as they glared darkly at each other. The girl finally threw up her hands. "Fine. You wanna die? Be my guest." She muttered, storming from the room.

“Where are you going?!” Jasper scowled after her.

The blonde let out a soft breath, shocked by the news herself. She stepped forward hesitantly.

"I'll inform the others," she sighed.

Jasper brought his drink around and sat back down on the couch, frowning. Pepper moved closer, hating to see him in such distress. She wished she could comfort him somehow, but nobody seemed to know she was there. She was contemplating what to do when Jasper spoke up.

"You can sit down, Mom." He said, smirking in her direction, causing her eyes to grow wide.

"You – you can see me?" She stuttered, feeling like she would cry again. He nodded and patted the cusion next to him.

"Of course, I can. I asked you to come. I'm glad you did."

Pepper squinted in confusion but walked swiftly to the couch.

"Feels like a dream doesn’t it?" He stared at her as if reading her mind. "Well it is, and it isn't. It's called astral projection. I implanted the idea in your subconscious earlier tonight."

"But-" Pepper sputtered. "This isn't a dream?"

"No, but I know, it feels like one. That’s because your material body is still in your bed and only your consciousness came here. It’s actually not that exciting. Pretty routine."

"So that means you're alive?!" She asked, her bottom lip quivering.

"Yes." He smiled at her softly. "But I'm far away from Earth. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you."

Jasper looked down and sighed taking another gulp of his drink. "There are a lot of things I'm sorry for, actually. And a lot of things I can’t tell you," he said, looked back up."But there will be time for that. "Right now, I need your help with something and we don't have much time."

"What do you mean? Why? What's going on?" Pepper instinctively tried to take his hand, forgetting she wasn't solid.

Jasper worked his jaw, trying to come up with the right words.

“What is it, honey?” Pepper urged him on.

"Mom, something is going to happen…" He sat up a little straighter. "And it's going to happen soon. I have to tell you about it so you can help, but the thing is, I can't let you remember me or being here or you might change your behavior, and then it won’t work. Nobody else can know or the whole thing will go sideways..."

He paused for a minute, looking angry about the next part. “So, when you wake up you won't consciously remember me, or being here, or any of what I'm going to say.”

"Honey—" Pepper bit her bottom lip and gazed at him. She wanted more than anything to believe this wasn’t a dream. That this was actually her son and that he was alive, but it didn't make any sense. "What won't work?"

“Time Travel," he said. “Dad has been working on it since the snap. He’s going to figure it out very soon, but it's going to set into motion a whole series of events that unless someone intervenes…he'll die, Mom."

Pepper instantly felt sick to her stomach hearing those words. The thought of losing anyone else - she didn’t know if she could bear it. Jasper seemed to notice her panic and hurriedly added.

"Don’t worry, he’s not going to because I’m not going to let him." He soothed. "It's going to be fine, but when Dad comes to tell you that he figured out how to undo the snap, I need you to tell him it's okay for him to help the Avengers because, from all the possibilities I've seen, he won't unless you tell him to."

Pepper opened her mouth to say something but again he seemed to read her mind.

"I know how he was in the past, but he's changed. Trust me, he won't unless you tell him you're okay with it. But then there's something else...once Dad goes back in time and they get the Infinity Stones, they will undo the snap, but Thanos is going to come back and it's going to take everything to beat him. Dr. Strange is going to show up and ask you to fight in the battle for Earth. I know you don’t like the Ironman suit, but you have to. You think Dad can't stop with Ironman and you were mad at him for building you your own suit, but he was doing it unconsciously for this very reason.” Jasper chuckled, his eyes drifting off. "You and Dad have some serious powers that I don’t have time to get into right now.”

Pepper shook her head, trying to make sense out of what he was telling her. _There was going to be another battle for Earth?_

"Honey, Thanos is dead. The Avenger’s killed him five years ago." Pepper said.

"I know, Mom. This is a different Thanos.” Jasper smiled as if he was explaining things to a five year old. “I know it's a lot to ask, but we really don't have a choice. The fate of Earth and bringing everyone back from the snap depends on this plan working out. "

Pepper frowned.

"How do you know all of this?"

Jasper laughed softly. "It's a long story. Maybe I'll tell you someday, but like I said we don't have much time. Will you help me? You have to be sure. You need to say it so your subconscious knows."

"Of course, I will do it, did you really think I wouldn’t?" Pepper said, still not sure if what she was experiencing was real. She hoped it was if it meant they could undo what Thanos had done.

Jasper smiled grimly in relief. "Thanks, Mom. I’m sorry. I didn't want you anywhere near danger, but I kind of ran out of options.”

Pepper chuckled. "I live with your Dad, remember? I'm always in danger of a reprogrammed toaster or blender blowing up. It'll all work out, sweetheart." She said, trying to be reassuring despite the terror she felt personally.

Jasper grinned at her. "Everyone else thinks I'm crazy, but I know this will work."

Pepper arched an eyebrow.

"Why can’t anyone know you’re alive? If you really are, then why did you stay away. You could have at least gave some inclination."

“I’m sorry.” He looked down again guiltily. “It was just the way it had to be. Please understand and trust me. I promise it’ll all make sense soon. But right now you have to go.”

"What?! Where?" Pepper looked around.

She gaped, terrified as the room started to go blurry. “ But I just found you." She cried, trying to hold onto his hand with her near invisible one.

"I know," Jasper sighed. "But it's okay. Don't be scared." His voice started to fade. "I'm always there with you and watching out for you guys. We'll be together again soon. I promise. I love you, Mom."

"I love you too." Pepper called out. Then the world went black.

When her eyes snapped back open it was to the sun shining through the windows of her and Tony's bedroom. Pepper shielded her face from its strong rays and felt a rough hand caressing her arm.

"Dreaming about me?" Tony grinned down at her.

Pepper rolled her eyes. "I don't remember, why?” She asked, her head feeling groggy.

"You were talking in your sleep. I heard you say, "I love you" and naturally thought it must be about me."

"Did you now?" She smirked and he shrugged his shoulder.

"Well, it must've been." Pepper smiled, rose, and kissed Tony softly on the lips.

"You know what else I love?" She rested her forehead against his.

"Mmm…coffee?"

"Coffee." She agreed.

He chuckled.

"Well, you better hurry then before madame president drinks it all," Tony said, standing and moving towards the door.

Pepper giggled as he disappeared, but it quickly turned into a frown as a sudden sense of dread coiled in the pit of her stomach. Shaking it off, she headed into the shower just in time to hear Morgan yell, “Pancakes are ready!”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you guys think good or bad. I'm always looking to get better.


End file.
